Tuesday 19 March 2024

The Church.


There is homophobia in the Church.

Many Christians persist in condemning homosexuals.

They will exclude us from God's House, cut us off from God, torture us, and condemn us to hell for eternity.

But the irrational anger of their attacks betrays their fear.

The fear of God's punishment.

The fear of death.

But their fears are no longer valid.

AIDS is virtually cured.

And Gay Marriage is legal in Australia.

So they are fighting their own shadows.

And persecuting a delusion.

Homosexuality is love.

And "those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them."  1 John 4:16 (NRSV)

So they are wrong!

Gay men and women abide in God's Love.

And we will all go to Heaven when we die.


[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]   

Photo Credit: wallpaperschristaos.com.br

Saturday 16 March 2024

The Presence of God.


We can experience the Presence of God but we can also experience what seems to be the absence of God.

Although God is never completely absent because God is in all things and more.

But through prayer, study, contemplation, and action we can experience God's Presence.

This is God breaking into History usually through human beings.

 The prophet Habakkuk complained.

"O Lord, how long shall I cry for help and you will not listen?
Or cry to you 'Violence' and you will not save?
Why do you make me see wrongdoing and look at trouble?"
Habakkuk 1: 2,3 (NRSV)

"Then the Lord answered me and said.....
.....there is still a vision for the appointed time."
Habakkuk 2: 2,3 (NRSV)

That time is now.


[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]

Photo Credit: Pinterest. 

Wednesday 13 March 2024

Nature and God.


As our autonomic nervous system functions without our conscious intervention so Nature functions without God's conscious intervention*.

This is cause and effect** - the Laws of Nature.

And it explains why there are differences between Nature and God.

In ancient times men observed the influences of Nature and ascribed these attributes to the gods.

This is why the gods were cruel and indifferent.

But God is transcendent.

God cares about our suffering.

God is merciful and forgiving.

And God's inmost nature is Love.

(* It has been said that the universe is God's body.)
(** This cannot, however, be applied to our experience as human beings.  This is governed by fear and ignorance and the reactions of other human beings around us.)

Photo Credit: esri.com

Thursday 7 March 2024

The Hippies.


The world hated the Hippies.

Because the Hippies challenged the materialism and corruption of the corporations and their political puppets.

Jesus said: "'If the world hates you, be aware that the world hated me before it hated you.  If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own.  Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world - therefore the world hates you.'"  John 15:18,19 (NRSV)

Generation X were the corporate bosses' most favored nation.

Because they were materialistic and worldly the world loved them as its own.

And they were allied with Fundamentalist and Evangelical Churches.

Ronald Reagan said: "Christianity contains unconventional weapons."

These were: Demonization, damnation, blaming and shaming.....

He called the Hippies: "Unconscious agents of the devil."

And he sought the help of Pope John Paul II who was a conservative and anti-communist Pope.

But who were Reagan's allies?

Billionaires, Hollywood studios, media-moguls.....

The mega-rich.

These are the powers of this world.

And they usurped the power of God to achieve their ends.

But nothing lasts forever.

The Hippies will be vindicated.

Jesus said: "'If they called the Master of the House Beelzebub, how much more will they malign those of his household*.'"  Matthew 10:24 (NRSV)

And they did.


(*NB. The Baby-Boomers were all baptized in the Church of Jesus Christ and the Hippies' campaign of non-violent Peace and Love was based on Christian principles as interpreted by Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jnr. and the Kennedy brothers.)

[Scripture quotations (marked NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A., and are used by permission.  All rights reserved.]

Photo Credit: pinterest.com 

Monday 4 March 2024

Homophobia.


After watching the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade I spoke to several friends about it.

I was surprised at the homophobic comments they made.

These are people who you would expect to have reasonably tolerant attitudes.

They both, however, reinforced the stereotype that gay people are excessively sexual, promiscuous, and lascivious.

I expressed my disappointment at their prejudiced attitudes.

And I tried to make them aware of their unconscious homophobia.

This experience has made me aware that negative attitudes towards gay people are still lurking in the closet.

And I renewed my determination to address them.


Photo Credit: neoskosmos.com

Sunday 3 March 2024

The Domination System.


The Western Liberal Democracies pride themselves on their peaceful, civilized societies.

But it must be remembered that these governments are backed up by huge modern armies.

This is the Domination System.

And peace is maintained so long as these Democracies are not challenged.

But the unfortunate side-effects of the Domination System are oppression and exploitation.

And the capitalist corporations that inhabit these Democracies exploit and abuse weaker countries.

This is the root of 9/11.

And the response of the self-professed Christian President was to retaliate with all the force of the Dominant Power.

When it came to the point it was not the Christian principle of "turning the other cheek" that prevailed but the brutal retaliation of domination.

So we can have no illusions about the dominance of the West.

It is the imposition of White Privilege.

And it is the continuation of the Domination System.    

Photo Credit: Wikimedia.

Saturday 2 March 2024

The Powers.


In his book Engaging the Powers Walter Wink describes the powers of this world as fallen.
 
This is far from the Fundamentalist attitude towards the corporate plutocrats of this world.

Conservative Christians have allied themselves with the corporations in a way that is totally in contradiction of scripture.

This can only be the result of Prosperity Theology which believes that wealth and power come from God and worldly authority is divinely sanctioned.

This contradicts the Bible which describes worldly powers as Beasts.

Jesus described the way of the world as evil.  (John 7:7)

The reason for this discrepancy is because the right-wing Christian Churches are part of the conservative establishment and have been since the time of Constantine.

Therefore they identify with worldly authority and adopt the attitudes and practices of the ruling elite.

But Jesus was neither rich nor powerful.

And he challenged the authority of the Pharisees.

So do not believe the Fundamentalists when they talk about authority and wealth.
 
God is on the side of the poor and needy.

As Jesus was.

And it was the worldly powers who crucified him.

Photo Credit: OM-Times Magazine.